Influenza News

Personalized care could help patients and providers plan safe returns to work or school from respiratory illnesses, according to a research review.

The latest COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk for hospitalization or visits to an ED or urgent care by around 50%, according to interim data published in MMWR.

Influenza vaccine manufacturers in the United States said this week that they have plans to remove a potentially extinct influenza B lineage from their vaccines and offer only trivalent shots next season.

Maternal influenza vaccination during pregnancy was associated with reduced chances of influenza-associated ED visits or hospitalizations in infants aged younger than 6 months, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Major vaccine developments in 2023 included the approvals of the first two vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus, the first chikungunya vaccine, a new vaccine against malaria, and a move to new monovalent COVID-19 vaccines.

On Dec. 14, the CDC issued an urgent warning calling for health care providers to increase vaccination coverage for COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.

Wastewater surveillance can effectively detect upticks in viral respiratory infections, which could help identify outbreaks, another study has shown.

The incidence of hospital-associated respiratory virus infections was higher among pediatric patients compared with adult patients, according to a study of patients at University of Michigan hospitals.

Influenza vaccine efficacy during the 2022-2023 influenza season was “moderate” but still prevented many health care encounters and hospitalizations among adult patients, researchers determined.

Use of antivirals to treat influenza in children remains low despite their wide availability and guidelines recommending their use, according to a study published in Pediatrics.